Related Links

A full-blown bust-up in the
ANC cannot be far away. There will be blood on the walls for sure.

President Jacob Zuma has
thrown all caution to the wind and isn’t even hiding his contempt for the Constitution
any longer.

He and his faction of the ANC
and their partners in crime with the big bucks are panicking that their hold on
power is slipping and they’re going for broke.

Last Friday Zuma not only
blatantly contradicted his own party’s clear policies, he did something that no
ANC leadership figure has done since 1994: in effect demand that one of the Constitution’s
most critical pillars of stability, the right to own property, be scrapped.

It is called the Robert
Mugabe option.

Mugabe and his ruling Zanu-PF
lost a referendum in February 2000 when voters rejected proposals to entrench
his powers and the confiscation of white-owned land.

Mugabe’s reaction was to
allow and encourage the violent occupation of this land and to kneecap the
judiciary, steps that pushed Zimbabwe over the failed state cliff.

Members of Zuma’s Cabinet and
parliamentary caucus openly criticised the way he repudiated established policy
positions and everything said by ANC speakers during the land debate just a few
days before his utterances.

All the signs are there that
Zuma has actually decided to push hard to stay on as president of the country
after he was replaced as ANC leader in December.

He is facing a criminal trial
and if that does take pace, certain jail time. He is also slowly losing his
battle for the heart of the ANC, at least outside the traditional rural areas.
Time for reckless populism and annihilating enemies.

If Zuma is allowed to stay on
as president after the December elective conference, we’ll probably be stuck
with him until the election of mid-2019.

God help us.

The Mugabe comparison could
possibly be taken even further. A few days ago Zuma announced that he was
relieving three stalwart advocated, Dumisa Ntsebeza, Ismael Semenya and Andiswa
Ndoni, from their duties at the Judicial Services Commission that vets aspirant
judges.

One of the replacements he
has in mind is apparently Gcina Malindi, the advocate who had represented him
in the controversial Zuma Spear case where he burst into tears in court.

Could it be that the Zuma
faction of the ANC is trying to load the judiciary with more executive-friendly
judges?

If this is the case, it is a
long term strategy that could only make sense from Zuma’s point of view if he
remains president for a few more years.

The bizarre and outrageous
behaviour of social development minister and Zuma insider Bathabile Dlamini
during the ongoing Sassa saga is an example of how the Zuma faction has stopped
caring about good governance and the rule of law.

Dlamini has shown a fat
middle finger to the Constitutional Court, Parliament and the public, and yet
her fellow Gupta insider, Des van Rooyen, praised her as an outstanding
minister. Zuma said he has faith in her.

Is there anyone in South
Africa who doesn’t believe that Dlamini had manufactured the grant payout
crisis over a period of two years to make sure that Cash Paymaster Services
retain its lucrative contract? Who benefits?

(Another question: when is
#Whitemonopolycapital not #Whitemonopolycapaital? When they’re called Cash
Paymaster Services and grease the right palms.)

(Oh, and another: isn’t it
astonishing that the ANC is so absolutely determined that South Africa needs a
state airline, even one that costs us billions, but that grant payments to
vulnerable citizens should be privatised?)

In the meantime, the SA
Revenue Service is fast on its way to implode while Zuma’s lackey in charge,
Tom Moyane, still plays silly power games with his political principal, the
minister of finance; and Zuma’s main attack dog, Minister of State Security David
Mahlobo, again warns that sinister foreign powers are planning a regime change
and he therefore has to regulate the internet and social media.

If we consider how reckless
Zuma is beginning to behave, we can conclude that he probably will soon fire
Pravin Gordhan, Mcebisi Jonas and other Cabinet ministers not in his favour,
regardless of the damage to the economy.

Zuma’s statement on
confiscating white-owned land was a shocker, but we shouldn’t fear that it
would soon lead to the end of property rights.

This is a hugely complex issue
with massive implications for the banking sector, investments, food security
and stability, and the Constitution probably won’t be amended during his
tenure.

For now, we should see this
as more of a populist trick to solidify rural support and a tactic to steer the
attention away from his other problems.

Back to my prediction of a
proper, open confrontation between the two main factions in the ANC. It could
be ugly and affect us all, but perhaps we should consider that the sooner that
happens, the sooner we could start a post-Zuma rebuilding of our society.

A last thought. What will
Julius Malema do now that his main target agrees with him on land
expropriation? Was this a double bluff?

Disclaimer: News24 encourages freedom of speech and the expression of diverse views. The views of columnists published on News24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of News24.

24.com publishes all comments posted on articles provided that they adhere to our Comments Policy. Should you wish to report a comment for editorial review, please do so by clicking the 'Report Comment' button to the right of each comment.

Tell us a bit about yourself:

Saving your profile

Settings

News24 allows you to edit the display of certain components based on a location.
If you wish to personalise the page based on your preferences, please select a
location for each component and click "Submit" in order for the changes to
take affect.

Your Location*

Weather*

Always remember my setting

Saving your settings

Facebook Sign-In

Hi News addict,

Join the News24 Community to be involved in breaking the news.

Log in with Facebook to comment and personalise news, weather and listings.